Shortly after returning to give the recently deceased Elpenor’s body its burial rites, Circe, the goddess of magic comes out of her palace to greet and give Odysseus advice about his upcoming journey. Odysseus listens to the advice and the next morning he sets off in his ship prepared to face the dangers ahead of him. A short time into his journey a dead calm comes over the sea. Odysseus cuts the beeswax and plugs his men’s ears as they begin to pass the dreadful Sirens, but Odysseus does not plug his ears, instead he has his men tie him up head to toe to the mast of the ship so he can listen to the sirens call. After enduring the Sirens agonizing call Odysseus is quick to give orders to his men to make course for Scylla, the unbeatable six headed monster that was guaranteed to eat at least six of Odysseus’s crew. While passing the hideous Scylla she lashes out and kills the strongest six of Odysseus crew, to his horror as he hears their screams from her layer in the rocks high above. Putting Scylla behind him he makes way for the island of Thrinacia, grazing ground for the cattle of the sun. After consistent begging of the crew they land, but before anything Odysseus warns them not to eat any of Helios’s cattle. They are trapped on the island by a strong south wind though and finish the last of Circes provisions. While Odysseus goes to pray to Zeus, Zeus puts him in a stupor and while he sleeps his crew succumbs and kills the best of Helios’s herd. When he awakens and finds his crew eating the cattle he is furious and quickly leaves the island. Zeus, furious with him for killing the Sun’s cattle, strikes his boat with a white-hot bolt, which kills Odysseus’s entire crew. Odysseus narrowly escapes on a tiny raft made from his boat and sneaks past the crags of Scylla without being detected. He continues to float for nine days and then lands on the island of Calypso.
Main Characters
During Odysseus' journey home, he encounters two giant, destructive monsters that kill anybody they can catch. Scylla and Charybdis, oftenly paired together, are both opposite of each other.
Scylla dwells in a cave up in a mountain side and "She has twelve legs, all writhing, dangling down and six long swaying necks, a hideous head on each, each head barbed with a triple row of fangs, thickset, packed tight..." (274). She allows nobody to pass without some casualties and so "No mariner yet can boast they've raced their ship past Scylla's lair without wome mortal blow - with each ofher six heads she snatches up a man from the dak-prowed craft and whisks him off" (274).
Charybdis, another crag, lives under water and "gulps down the dark water down, that terror! Don't be there when the wirlpool swalls down - not even the earthquake god could save you from that disaster" (274). Each time Charybdis swallows down the water, it creates a giant whirlpool which can suck down any ship. Together, these crags are dangerously paired and few have escaped this awful strait.
Structure
Homer uses many different types of literary techniques in this book such as similes, flashbacks, and foreshadowing.
Quotation: "... dreaded Charybdis off to port, her horrible whirlpool gulping the sea-surge down, down but when she spewed it up - like a cauldron over a raging fire - all her churning depths would seethe and heave..." (278). This emphasizes and gives more information about Charybdis and his awesome powers.
Quotation: "And I was struck once more by the words of the blind Theban prophet, Tiresias, and Aeaean Circe too: time and again they told me to shun this island of the Sun, the joy of man" (279). This flashbacks tells the readers where Odysseus has been and what has been told to him and reminds them about the help given to him.
Quotation: "... the hides began to crawl, the meat, both raw and roasted, bellowed out on the spits, and we heard a noise like the moan of lowing oxen" (283). Homer is foreshadowing the consequences that will come to Odysseus and his crew for eating Helio's cattle.
Geography
The Cattle of the Sun primarily takes place on Thrinacia, the home of Helio's cattle. After narrowly escaping Charybdis and Scylla, Odysseus made this unwise descion to embark onto this island. He tells his crew not to harm any of the cattle. At first, the crew stayed well away from the cows, but their food eventually ran out after a strong south wind trapped them on the island. The temptation was too much and they killed the best cattle. Helios was furious and tells Zeus to punish them. Zeus strikes Odysseus' ship with a bolt of white-hot lightning, destroying the ship. Now, after a close encounter with Charybdis, Odysseus is alone and drifts to Calypso's island.
Quotation: "But swear me a binding oath, all here, that if we come on a herd of cattle or fine flock of sheep, not one man among us - blind in his reckless ways - will slaughter an ox or ram"(280). Significance: Odysseus tells his crew to not kill any of the cattle because of the consequences. They break their promise to kill them.
Quotation: "All ways of dying are hateful to us poor mortals, true, but to die of hunger starve to death - thats the worst of all. So up with you now, let's drive off the pick of Helios' sleek herds..." (281). Significance: Odysseus' crew does not want to starve to death, stating that is one of the worst ways to die. They are trying to justify their reasons for killing the sacred sheep.
Quotation: "Then then in the same breath Zeus hit the craft with a ligtning-bolt and thunder. round she spun, reeling under the impact..." (284). Significance: This leaves Odysseus alone and without a ship or crew. Again he is at the mercy of the ocean and gods. It was lucky that he lands on Calypso's island.
Thrinacia is located near the present day Sicily.
Ancient Greek Diet
Ancient Greek cuisine shows frugality representing the agricultural hardship that the ancient Greeks often suffered with. Greek food is often made up of what is called the Mediterranean triad, which is grapes, olives, and wheat. These three fundamental elements were the largest part of Greek food and their diet. Olives in particular were very popular for their many diverse uses such as use in perfumes, its special oil which was used for a very wide variety of things, and even medicinal purposes. At an average home middle class home in ancient Greece families would have three to four meals a day. The first being breakfast consisted traditionally of barley bread, wine and occasionally figs or olives. Lunch was normally the same as breakfast with added fish or cheese for extra nutrients. Dinner was by far the most important meal for the Greeks, it was mainly made up of fruit, fish, vegetables and occasionally honey cakes (sugar having not been introduced yet honey was a natural sweetener). Greece being mostly an island nation, the ocean was a very important element to them, and naturally fish was very prominent in their diet and served as their main source of protein. Wine in Greece was the main drink; it was watered down because to drink it straight was considered barbaric. Milk was hardly ever drunk, because it was also considered barbaric; instead it was used for cheeses primarily. Water was the other drink used. There were no eating implements in ancient Greece. Bread was very often used as a tool while eating; it was used as a napkin and would also be used to scoop soups and stews. An almost mythical stew that was eaten by the Spartans was call the black broth and consisted of, pork meat, salt, vinegar and blood. Many old men drank this broth straight without the meat; it was believed to give strength. Kykeon was also an important drink used in rituals, it was made up of water, barley gruel and herbs.
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Bibliography
Homer. The Odyssey. , Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Co. 2000
The Cattle of the Sun
Synopsis/Theme
Main Characters
Structure
Geography
Ancient Greek Diet
Synopsis/Theme
Shortly after returning to give the recently deceased Elpenor’s body its burial rites, Circe, the goddess of magic comes out of her palace to greet and give Odysseus advice about his upcoming journey. Odysseus listens to the advice and the next morning he sets off in his ship prepared to face the dangers ahead of him. A short time into his journey a dead calm comes over the sea. Odysseus cuts the beeswax and plugs his men’s ears as they begin to pass the dreadful Sirens, but Odysseus does not plug his ears, instead he has his men tie him up head to toe to the mast of the ship so he can listen to the sirens call. After enduring the Sirens agonizing call Odysseus is quick to give orders to his men to make course for Scylla, the unbeatable six headed monster that was guaranteed to eat at least six of Odysseus’s crew. While passing the hideous Scylla she lashes out and kills the strongest six of Odysseus crew, to his horror as he hears their screams from her layer in the rocks high above. Putting Scylla behind him he makes way for the island of Thrinacia, grazing ground for the cattle of the sun. After consistent begging of the crew they land, but before anything Odysseus warns them not to eat any of Helios’s cattle. They are trapped on the island by a strong south wind though and finish the last of Circes provisions. While Odysseus goes to pray to Zeus, Zeus puts him in a stupor and while he sleeps his crew succumbs and kills the best of Helios’s herd. When he awakens and finds his crew eating the cattle he is furious and quickly leaves the island. Zeus, furious with him for killing the Sun’s cattle, strikes his boat with a white-hot bolt, which kills Odysseus’s entire crew. Odysseus narrowly escapes on a tiny raft made from his boat and sneaks past the crags of Scylla without being detected. He continues to float for nine days and then lands on the island of Calypso.
Main Characters
During Odysseus' journey home, he encounters two giant, destructive monsters that kill anybody they can catch. Scylla and Charybdis, oftenly paired together, are both opposite of each other.Scylla dwells in a cave up in a mountain side and "She has twelve legs, all writhing, dangling down and six long swaying necks, a hideous head on each, each head barbed with a triple row of fangs, thickset, packed tight..." (274). She allows nobody to pass without some casualties and so "No mariner yet can boast they've raced their ship past Scylla's lair without wome mortal blow - with each ofher six heads she snatches up a man from the dak-prowed craft and whisks him off" (274).
Charybdis, another crag, lives under water and "gulps down the dark water down, that terror! Don't be there when the wirlpool swalls down - not even the earthquake god could save you from that disaster" (274). Each time Charybdis swallows down the water, it creates a giant whirlpool which can suck down any ship. Together, these crags are dangerously paired and few have escaped this awful strait.
Structure
Homer uses many different types of literary techniques in this book such as similes, flashbacks, and foreshadowing.Quotation: "... dreaded Charybdis off to port, her horrible whirlpool gulping the sea-surge down, down but when she spewed it up - like a cauldron over a raging fire - all her churning depths would seethe and heave..." (278). This emphasizes and gives more information about Charybdis and his awesome powers.
Quotation: "And I was struck once more by the words of the blind Theban prophet, Tiresias, and Aeaean Circe too: time and again they told me to shun this island of the Sun, the joy of man" (279). This flashbacks tells the readers where Odysseus has been and what has been told to him and reminds them about the help given to him.
Quotation: "... the hides began to crawl, the meat, both raw and roasted, bellowed out on the spits, and we heard a noise like the moan of lowing oxen" (283). Homer is foreshadowing the consequences that will come to Odysseus and his crew for eating Helio's cattle.
Geography
The Cattle of the Sun primarily takes place on Thrinacia, the home of Helio's cattle. After narrowly escaping Charybdis and Scylla, Odysseus made this unwise descion to embark onto this island. He tells his crew not to harm any of the cattle. At first, the crew stayed well away from the cows, but their food eventually ran out after a strong south wind trapped them on the island. The temptation was too much and they killed the best cattle. Helios was furious and tells Zeus to punish them. Zeus strikes Odysseus' ship with a bolt of white-hot lightning, destroying the ship. Now, after a close encounter with Charybdis, Odysseus is alone and drifts to Calypso's island.Quotation: "But swear me a binding oath, all here, that if we come on a herd of cattle or fine flock of sheep, not one man among us - blind in his reckless ways - will slaughter an ox or ram"(280). Significance: Odysseus tells his crew to not kill any of the cattle because of the consequences. They break their promise to kill them.
Quotation: "All ways of dying are hateful to us poor mortals, true, but to die of hunger starve to death - thats the worst of all. So up with you now, let's drive off the pick of Helios' sleek herds..." (281). Significance: Odysseus' crew does not want to starve to death, stating that is one of the worst ways to die. They are trying to justify their reasons for killing the sacred sheep.
Quotation: "Then then in the same breath Zeus hit the craft with a ligtning-bolt and thunder. round she spun, reeling under the impact..." (284). Significance: This leaves Odysseus alone and without a ship or crew. Again he is at the mercy of the ocean and gods. It was lucky that he lands on Calypso's island.
Thrinacia is located near the present day Sicily.
Ancient Greek Diet
Ancient Greek cuisine shows frugality representing the agricultural hardship that the ancient Greeks often suffered with. Greek food is often made up of what is called the Mediterranean triad, which is grapes, olives, and wheat. These three fundamental elements were the largest part of Greek food and their diet. Olives in particular were very popular for their many diverse uses such as use in perfumes, its special oil which was used for a very wide variety of things, and even medicinal purposes. At an average home middle class home in ancient Greece families would have three to four meals a day. The first being breakfast consisted traditionally of barley bread, wine and occasionally figs or olives. Lunch was normally the same as breakfast with added fish or cheese for extra nutrients. Dinner was by far the most important meal for the Greeks, it was mainly made up of fruit, fish, vegetables and occasionally honey cakes (sugar having not been introduced yet honey was a natural sweetener). Greece being mostly an island nation, the ocean was a very important element to them, and naturally fish was very prominent in their diet and served as their main source of protein. Wine in Greece was the main drink; it was watered down because to drink it straight was considered barbaric. Milk was hardly ever drunk, because it was also considered barbaric; instead it was used for cheeses primarily. Water was the other drink used. There were no eating implements in ancient Greece. Bread was very often used as a tool while eating; it was used as a napkin and would also be used to scoop soups and stews. An almost mythical stew that was eaten by the Spartans was call the black broth and consisted of, pork meat, salt, vinegar and blood. Many old men drank this broth straight without the meat; it was believed to give strength. Kykeon was also an important drink used in rituals, it was made up of water, barley gruel and herbs.
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Bibliography
Homer. The Odyssey. , Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Co. 2000